Let me make a prediction. By the end of this month, Michael Martin will no longer be Speaker. Indeed, I'd almost be willing to bet that he will have stepped down by the end of next week. Douglas Carswell is doing a great job, but he needs to be joined by some courageous big beasts from across all the parties. If they come forward, he's toast. Newsnight polled 173 MPs about their views on his future. 58 said he should go, 67 said they had confidence in him and 53 wouldn't say. It's safe to say a majority of those 53 want rid of him. Those figures speak for themselves.But he doesn't just need to go. He needs to go now. Saying he will stand down at the next election is not good enough. His successor, whoever it is, needs time to 'bed in' and get to grips with the crisis facing our Parliament at the moment.
And can we just put to one side the knee jerk reaction of some, that any criticism of Michael Martin is based on class snobbery. Is Douglas Carswell a snob? Gordon Prentice? Paul Flynn? Norman Baker? Kate Hoey? Richard Shepherd? Norman Lamb? I think not. I first ran into Michael Martin in 1991 when he chaired the Ports Privatisation Standing Committee. I saw him at first hand for about 10 hours a week over a month. I thought he was an incompetent Committee Chair then and I have seen nothing to make me change my mind.
The very integrity of parliament is at stake, and I am afraid he is the roadblock to reform. He needs to go and go now. And it's up to men and women of courage in Parliament to make sure that happens.
Later today I will run a new poll on who his successor should be. Feel free to make your nominations in the comments.
83 comments:
Throwing the speaker out won't "fix it" with the electorate.
Voters will send their reply on June 4th.
Charles Clarke!
David Davies. We need someone to protect the sanctity of the "commons", to uphold the democratic rights of the people and to act as a firm but fair hand.
Parliament is at its lowest ebb for centuries. There is a dictatorship of the executive and this must be challenged, and the house reformed.
He'd do a cracking job.
(And I bet, on a personal level, he'd love it)
Kate Hoey for Speaker!
Not before time. This fool beggars belief in his ineptitude as speaker.
Go back to sheet metalwork.
Is anybody keeping a running total because there are few people who will be signing that motion you have left off (e.g. John Hemming and Ben Wallace) and Douglas seems to have stopped providing updates on his blog.
Thayts News Thursday morning update. Oh, dear! It's not getting any better, is it?More revelations by teatime, I think?
We are reporting on interesting times.
Mr Speaker's taxi fares and visit to foreign climes have had plenty of publicity, and there should be widespread public appreciation of the need to get him out. It would also be an important symbolic act of reform.
I sympathise with the very strong convention that one shouldn't criticise the referee. However, there is more at stake here than that one principle. Martin has been defending corruption, rather than the honourable conduct of the house.
As to his successor, Frank Field springs to mind, Kate Hoey as deputy. The present deputy can't be take this on, nor can Ming Campbell. As for the practice of alternating between the main parties, that may have to be kept in abeyance for a while.
Fingers crossed, well to be honest everything that can be crossed has been. Hat off to Douglas Carswell on this.
For some reason I can't see the Speaker giving up without a fight though. Should be interesting though whatever happens.
What is the "back story" as to how Speaker Martin actually got elected, Iain?
Ian Dale wrote ... I first ran into Michael Martin in 1991 when he chaired the Ports Privatisation Standing Committee. I saw him at first hand for about 10 hours a week over a month. I thought he was an incompetent Committee Chair ...Assuming Ian Dale has average powers of observation, roughly half of those who have had similar contact with Michael Martin may have formed the same opinion. If so, by which mechanism could such an individual be chosen as Speaker and remain in post for aso long?
Funny how "class snobbery" nrver applied to Betty or George, two recent speakers from the "lower" class, but revered for their competance.
Accusations of class or gender snobbery - the last refuge of the incompetent ? Yes, Harriet ... ?
I have nominated David Davis on my blog. I doubt Martin will go by the end of next week. He will just announce his intention to go before the Summer recess. Who will want a by-election at this time?
"Let me make a prediction. By the end of this month, Michael Martin will no longer be Speaker."
They'll have to dynamite him out of his seat.
And even if they manage it, it won't solve anything. As 'anon' put it, wait until June 4th when the voters get a chance to have their say.
Can't wait to see the further revelations in the 'Telegraph' this morning....
What about Norman Baker? Ming Campbell seems to have blotted his copy book.
He doesn't just need to go the whole system of speaker needs to be overhauled. The position needs to be a Queens appointment made on candidates from the major parties. Also the minuet someone becomes speaker they need to stop being an MP and a member of a political party. Martin has been a disgrace from start to finish he has taken the job of speaker and belittled it to the point of a running in joke. As to the old Labour cry of class snobbery Betty was an excellent speaker respected by all the parties and she was as working class as they come. When they run out of reasonable arguement they always start in on class a subject only they care about anyone of real class knows it makes no difference at all
George Galloway for new Speaker. At least he would be independent. Respect!
Ken Clarke for Speaker. He`s an experienced politician and well respected, woluld make a great Speaker!
I'd like to see frank field get the job!
I hope you are right that he will soon be gone. As to successor I would suggest one of these three, Sir George Young, Sir Ming Campbell or Sir Alan Beith.
use 'theyworkforyou.com' to contact your MP and encourage them to support Douglas Carswell.
It's got to be David Davis or Kate Hoey. The dark horse candidates for me would include:Frank Field, Hilary Benn or Andrew Smith ( i KNOW he's a Brownie but he's one of the more 'diligent' MP's regarding expenses etc).
Kate Hoey although I doubt if she would want to do it.
Hope you're right about Martin going. Nothing would show better that the Augean stables are about to be hosed down.
That settles it, he'll stay put.Your record at predictions is worse than mine Iain.
I'm not fussed which party the next speaker is from, as long he/she stands up for Parliament against the Executive.
A by election in Glasgow? That'll be nice!
Won't Labour just love another fight with the SNP?
Won't the SNP just love to put the disappointment of Glenrothes behind them?
That's why Labour CAN'T let
Martin resign.
Wow - you thought he was incompetent?
Given your famously non-existent grasp of parliamentary procedure (and your reliance on, er, 'sources' who are equally oblivious) what makes you qualified to judge is beyond me.
Laughable.
Michael White has this right.
For McNulty to be now criticising Martin means Brown is on the case.
Your forecast looks correct.
Ditching the Speaker won't save them. The focus of voters is shifting from party tribalism to the integrity of individual candidates. New Speaker or not, those tainted by peculation will be remembered by their electors next time around.
I urge readers of the blog to sign the petition below insisting that the speaker resigns.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/michael-martin-should-resign/sign.html
If this happens it would be delicious!
I think the best candidate is Sir George Young.
He is Chairman of Standards & Privileges Committee; leading a cross-party group, he has already had to make reports/ judgements on similar matters that are currently being discussed. A steady hand is needed now, a person with experience and who holds the respect of the House.
Someone who has had the DT treatment won't work, someone who is despised by most of his own party won't work. It is key (as in Douglas Carswell's EDM) that the ballot be secret, to avoid the vengeful spitefulness of the Labour Whips.
Gorbals Mick can't go soon enough. He has defiled the Office he holds.
As for a replacement; as the individual is going to face an extremely difficult task in restoring Parliament's reputation and standing in the country it will have to be someone admired from all sides of the political spectrum.
The most obvious candidate: Vince Cable.
(I'm a Conservative)
No obvious replacement candidate on the Labour or Tory benches, so we have to look at the Lib Dems. Ming is now impossible, however, and Vince is clearly needed on the front line. I'd say Alan Beith is the man for the job. 35 years an MP, bags of experience as Chief Whip for the Liberals, and chairing Commons committees, man of principle, untainted by the present mess as far as I know, and a jolly nice chap.
Bring back the gallows!
What a state we are in, that it takes courage to get rid of someone who is patently, chronically, incompetent?
And what does it say of the odious man that he will fight to stay, even though his failure must be obvious to even him? Does he think it is his entitlement?
Everyone who still supports this dreadful man, or makes excuses with cries of snobbery, demeans Parliament still further. They should be throughly ashamed of themselves and offer their own resignations, they are as bad as the theiving magpie MPs. They are not doing a public service, but are self-serving.
The whole house wants clearing out - Lords and all. We want a general election, and we want to appoint men and woment of talent and integrity to sort out the mess that is now Britain, in both houses. A lists and Harman and her equlity bill should be sent packing - it's another piece of legislation that should never have seen the light of an honest day.
And the EU wants kicking into touch as well, that's fraud with bells on!!!
They've made a mockery out of parliament and I've stopped listening to them and doing what they tell me.
Yes folks, I'll probably be in jail soon, but I wont take orders from these thieving pigs!
There is a long established Scottish MAFIA at Westminster. They are responsible for much of the mess of the last 12 years.
With the Speaker getting the push and Brown looking totally out of it and with a Tory Government looking likely to reform the voting system to exclude Scottish MPs from voting on English legislation it's over for the McScots. About time as well.
They can all go back to Scotland and be Ministers there.
Could Speaker Martin retire to the backbenches or would his resignation precipitate a byelection in Glasgow?
As a Lib Dem reader of the blog of course I would favour Ming Campbell or Alan Beith.
Also maybe Patrick Cormack?
Its probably time it was a non-Labour MP.
Sir Patrick Cormack - nobody has a greater love and care for Parliament - nor a greater appreciation of British political and constitutional history - than he!
Surely no by election is called for, if he simply retires to sit on the back benches for the time being.
Not that I'm suggesting he'd be any use there, you understand.
I nominate Gordon Brown for Speaker.
He has all the qualifications: he's Scottish, partisan, incompetent, bad tempered, indecisive & totally incapable of accepting responsibility.
No handover period required. He could start tomorrow and no one would notice the change.
Depends on what you mean by 'soon'. You think 'end of next week'. I think it'll take a lot longer - for several reasons:
Setting aside all the flim flam about class prejudice, Brown needs to keep the Speaker in place.
The Speaker could ride out this storm by 'accepting' the Will of the House - which is unlikely to include his resignation. A motion of censure - if carried - doesn't necessarily lead to removal from post. A vote of no confidence would be difficult to engineer and would be whipped like crazy.
The terms and conditions of any such severance will be mulled over by lawyers and accountants at some considerable length.
Strangely, his obvious bias and incompetence is helpful to opposition parties as well - in that they can be perceived as victims of NuLab apparatchiks.
There are many people who the Speaker could offer up as sacrifices - Andrew Walker, for a start.
I don't think there's enough support (or nerve!) for a dethronement, nor is there any clarity as to likely candidates - although one can see a certain 'positioning' going on on all sides of the House.
Of course the Speaker could suddenly develop a health problem...
Go on! Go on! Admit it. Carswell is a bit of an idiot. My take is that the Speaker will survive this but on condition he stands down as an MP rather than getting waved through.
If he doesn't survive then someone else gets waved through, and given the state of the parties that wouldn't necessarily be anyone other than a Labourite in a marginal!
Be careful what you wish for.
PS Charles Clarke ... an interesting choice that. Hilarity would ensue. And a Labour seat would be saved, whatever the next 12 months brings.
The practice of alternating the Speaker HAS been abeyance for years now - tho' in fact, it was the practice of having a Speaker from a non-Government Party. Blair put a stop to it by installing a Labour MP.
So in preparation for the Conservatives winning the Election next year (assuming Brown doesn't find a reason to cancel it), Cameron and Clegg should select a suitably knowledgeable, hard-working, intelligent and respected LibDem MP whom they will propose.
Perhaps one of our LibDem visitors to this site could enlighten us on suitable candidates?
the manner and timing of the speaker's departure will all depend on when it is most financially advantageous for him to do so. a figure adjacent to £100 000 has been mentioned in the msm.
the manner and timing of the speaker's departure will all depend on when it is most financially advantageous for him to do so. a figure adjacent to £100 000 has been mentioned in the msm.
The speaker should definitely quit : Elliot Morely is going to prison, and that happened on his watch. He was so busy troughing himself, he couldn't see what the people he's supposed to be watching were doing. Eventually, greed turned to fraud.
This isn't Lord Boffington-Woffington getting his drawbridge oiled, or Ron Leninspart finally getting the 50 inch plasma he's always coveted. This is plain, simple fraud.
"David Davies."
The Tory MP from Wales?
Next person who confuses the two Davids should be thrown under a bus.
Kate Hoey
Let me make a more realistic prediction - by the end of the month the Speaker will announce his retirement at the next General Election - and the Tories will not rock the boat since they think that they will be able to appoint whowever they want thereafter.
Until last week I would have said Ming, but I think he's blotted his copybook. Ditto DD. George Young has an inpeccable pedigree but you can hardly say that the Standards Committee has done well on expenses. So I think probably 'anyone but Bercow'.
I am afraid that the problem is we need someone who has not been implicated in this scandal but can command the respect of the nation never mind the House of Commons.
Since this Parliament is widely seen as corrupt, morally bankrupt and therefore has no authority the only solution is an immediate dissolution.
Only then can a new Speaker be found as those incumbent MP's who are returned will no doubt be those that have not been involved in this corruption.
Dave should voice his lack of confidence. I know party leaders do not do htis by convention but this speaker puts us into new territory.
Dave can kill Martin on his own - and he should.
Kate Hoey, Frank Field or Nick Harvey are my non partisan choices.
John Redwood, David Davis are my partisan choices.
Gordon Brown is not a choice!
I agree with you, he's crap and should go.
Betty was better.
Agree with JuliaM's comment though.
George Galloway lol.
Talking of Gorgeous George ("err, is the microphone on?") when do we get to hear of that scallywags expenses?
I can imagine his are worst than most.
Perhaps Galloway, Blair and a pair of Balls tomorrow?
What I want to know is why do we get all the useless Scots? Brown, Martin, Blair etc etc. They are all useless. I know there are competent Scots, I have worked with many of them. So why does our parliament attract all the Scottish wankers? If I was Scots I'd be pretty pissed off that my nation was being judged by the performance of these complete tossers.
Mick is an easy target; many must follow before Westminster can hope to regain its authority, its credibility however will not be regained whatever new rules are put in place.
A broken trust, like glass cracked is weakened and untrustworthy and must ultimately be replaced or discarded.
I have a prediction too the EU elections will be a disaster for the big three, Worzel Gummage for the "Turnip Partee" would get more votes, certainly be my choice.
Did anyone else hear the end of the Today programme this morning? THey were talking to an Italian and a German correspondant about international reaction to the scandal. The Italian said, predictably, that it was small beer compared to the Italian politicians. The German had a similar message but when asked ehat he thought should happen he immediately said that the Speaker had to go, said that was the view in Germany. That the Speaker had to carry the can in order to restore the image of Briotish democracy.
The message is clear, the whole world thinks you should go Speaker Martin.
@ Anonymous said...
"Sir Patrick Cormack - nobody has a greater love and care for Parliament - nor a greater appreciation of British political and constitutional history - than he!"Sounds like four trotters and a snout firmly tucked into the public trough from where I'm sitting.
In my career in industry, I worked with lots of people who had come up from the shop floor. Some of them were the most able and competent of men and women. Martin is just an incompetent failure. Nothing to do with snobbery, he is just useless.
I think you got the numbers wrong from the Newsnight poll, it was more like 48 against, 53 for and rest wouldn't say. But I wouldn't assume this would translate into that many votes if it came down to it. Most of those who are happy to be against off the record may well find their courage deserts them when it comes to the vote. Commentators on TV, even those publicly calling for the speaker to resign, usually have to be prodded a few times before eliciting an obscure metaphor ("he's run out of road") instead of just saying "yes, he should go".
The Speaker won't go. Nobody will go. They are all incompetent, bent wnakers. If you start picking the scab, they will bleed to death.
Look at the low lifes Brown has appointed to ministerial posts since he grabbed power. They are, for the most part, third raters. There is nobody to replace them. All those with a shred of decency got kicked out or left in disgust.
So no. The Speaker will not go because he is joined at the hip to the class-phobic, conniving, treasonable, nest feathering Labour Government of Gordon Brown and if Martin goes, Brown would undoubtedly follow hard upon. We know Brown is going to hang on until the bitter end. He is like Hitler in that respect, commanding non-existent armies of followers to do increasingly very bad things to our once great nation.
Just a word to those who are going down the anti-Scottish route: you are barking up the wrong tree. All these people have in common is their venality, and their pathological hatred of the middle classes, and from where I am, they aren't welcome North of the Border either.
I think the next speaker should be Sir Alan Haselhurst. He already knows the job; he's totally impartial from the many times I've seen of him in the past; MPs actually take notice of him, unlike the fat trougher that currently occupies the seat; he doesn't have to ask his secretaries every two minutes, "what the hell do I do next?"; and, I actually quite like the bloke.
Three clear candidates for me:
Kate Hoey (although I fear that she truly would have to be dragged to the chair)
Sir Ming Campbell (his copybook has been blotted but not torn up)
Norman Baker (who has been excellent recently).
I only really have two criteria: not a Tory (with a view to 2010 onwards) and not a Labour robot. Lib Dems would be sensible choices at this moment in time.
Certainly not David Davis, he still has a long political career ahead of him.
Vince Cable.
Position is made for him.
And the other big positive is that we would not have to listen to him on TeeVee droning on and on in his whiny 'I told you so' school master voice!
As ever, it's the ones defending him on the basis of his class who have the true contempt for the working class.
By saying that Martin shouldn't be criticised for incompetence because he's working class, they're effectively saying that his incompetence is a result of his being working class.
George Thomas and Betty Boothroyd were widely respected yet were they any less working class than Michael Martin?
We saw the same thing with John Prescott. No-one was allowed to criticise his inability to string together a coherent sentence because not only was he working class but also (shock horror) he didn't go to grammar school.
George Young would strike me as the obvious choice. Redwood would be excellent, but is surely going to be needed by the next government far too much to be consigned to the speakership.
DD unfortunately seems to have blotted his copy book with the whole portico affair,and while Ken Clarke would be great, I doubt he would want to give up the fun he seems to be having tearing the government apart.
Rifkind would probably be good as well.
To those suggesting a lib dem get the job, be fair. Don't deprive them of the little talent they have to serve as speaker.
I have no inhibitions about saying this, my reason for wanting Michael Martin to go is solely based on CLASS, the fact that he has none.
Betty Boothroyd came from a humble backgroud not too different from Michael Martins but she brought CLASS to the office of Speaker not disrepute like him.
The fact is CLASS is something you are born with and not a state you are born into, as the CLASS warriors of Labour would have us all believe.
Michael Martin like James Gray and Ed (so what) Balls to name just a few are amongst those people we all have to suffer from more and more these days who belong to a group who suffered CLASS by-passes at birth.
Off topic but eeyore on Douglas Carswell's blog gives us a history lesson on the history of the last time a speaker was forced out.
"last Speaker to be pushed out was Sir John Trevor, in 1695. "His sordid rapacity had excited general aversion," says Macaulay (plus ca change). He suffered the unique humiliation of having to put, from the Chair, the motion that he was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours. There was a deafening cry of Aye. He called for the Noes. Not a voice was heard. Trevor then left the House and, pleading illness, never returned. King William was persuaded to permit a successor to be appointed."
Sordid rapacity has excited general aversion - brilliant!
No-one had anything but praise for George Thomas and Betty Boothroyd, both of whom were from working-class backgrounds. The allegation of snobbery that Martin waves around is a figleaf grasped by an incompetent and petty man.
Well, if Speaker Martin resigns, the government will plainly opt for an election for his replacement With their huge parliamentary advantage, doubtless he or she would be another labourite, which would make it three in a row.
My own feeling is that Cameron should refuse point bank to accept any Speaker elected in this way. He should insist on a Conservtive Party nomination. Blair changed the time-honoured system for his own advantage.
Sorry to butt in like this, but could anyone tell me why Richard shepherd was mentioned in this post?
Frank Field would make a good speaker
The chaps down in the old Bull & Bush agree with you but they think you're being a bit too polite. Cheers.
Dominic Grieve.
Shepherd was a contender when Martin got it. He should have had it and would have but for Labour's old boys at Brown's insistence.
He made a stonking good speech on the World at One, just now, saying that his day as a a contender has passed but he is campaigning hard against Martin now because Parliament itself, 'our only democratic institution', is in grave danger and much of it is Martin's fault. He thinks it's urgent.
After that speech today, I think he should be dragged to the chair.
MartinW: I'm glad someone mentioned Blair. Guilty. In more ways than one.
You should do a piece on the outrageous loot he and others will receive if they are voted out of office etc.
Martin needs to go "with prejudice", i.e. forfeit such goodies.
It's a sad story he got the job in the first place.
Get TB! He is good at reconstruction. And shredding stuff too. Nothing will be found.
I'd suggest Ann Widdecombe, but she's standing down at the next election :(
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